conflicts
Fighter jet incident: number of injuries in Russia increases
The handout photo published by the Belgorod region governor’s Telegram channel shows the crater after the explosion in Belgorod, not far from the border with Ukraine. photo
© Uncredited/Telegram Channel of Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov/AP
Accidentally fired ammunition from a fighter jet in Belgorod triggered an explosion, according to Russian sources. Videos show a massive detonation and damaged buildings.
After an accidental explosion caused by a fighter jet in the Russian city of Belgorod, the number of people injured has risen to three. No one is in mortal danger, the governor of the region bordering Ukraine, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram.
On Thursday evening, a heavy explosion occurred at a Belgorod crossroads, tearing a crater with a radius of around 20 meters in the ground. The Defense Ministry in Moscow later announced that a Russian fighter jet had “shot down unplanned ammunition”. At first there was talk of two injured women.
Videos posted on social media showed a plume of smoke rising next to a road and in close proximity to multi-story buildings. A few seconds later, the projectile detonates: you can see how the road tears up at the point and a blast of fire rises. According to Governor Gladkow, all residents of a damaged apartment building were temporarily relocated. Some stayed with relatives, others in the hotel.
Russia has been at war with Ukraine for 14 months. Attacks against the neighboring country are sometimes launched from Belgorod.